CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The court of public opinion has long been divided on Chad Knaus. Depending on who you ask, the crew chief is a world-class cheater, a masterful innovator, or maybe a combination of both.

AVONDALE, Ariz. - Elliott Sadler pulled up to the grandstand, revved his engine and spun his tires until there was hardly any rubber left. A wall of white smoke billowed up the flag stand and drifted over pit road, leaving the rest of the field in a fog.